with the october 28th p&g brandsaver. breaking news this hour. the east coast braces for a storm of historic preparations. it is expected to span some 800 miles up the atlantic coast to the inlands northeast. good day, everyone. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." right now, a vast and dangerous hurricane is sweeping toward the mid-atlantic coastline. it will move closer to the u.s. tomorrow. mandatory evacuations under way right now. people in atlantic city, new jersey, as well as parts of connecticut, dwanbegan evacuati moments ago. evacuation orders for low-lying par parts of delaware, maryland, and new york. andrew cuomo spoke with this

news for america's largest city. >> i'm announcing the mta will suspend bus, subway and commuter rail service at 7:00 p.m. this evening. >> something to know for all commuters, and the impending severe weather is suspending campaign events. president obama has cancelled events for virginia. sandy is expected to spawn heavy rain, storm surge, and eventually snow. dylan dryer has it all. a big report. >> a big report on a big storm, alex. it extends basically the size of it from boston to charlotte, north carolina. that say huge storm, and when it makes its wayon sho on onshore, affect that length of coastline. major events across the eastern

seaboard. still a category to 1 storm. the 11:00 a.m. report has not changed. 573 miles directly south of new york city. it is still going to take that turn to the northwest and right now, we are already seeing wind gusts in salisbury, maryland, 33 miles per hour. 43 miles per hour gusts, and 45 to 55 across northeastern north carolina. that high is still locked in place, that cold front to our west is still stalled. that means that storm is still going to take that turn to the northwest. it's inevitable at this point and could make landfall as a category 1 storm or a post tropical storm. again, what it is is not that important. what you need to know is that this is a powerful storm and it is going to be at its peak monday night to tuesday morning. conditions will deteriorate through the mid-atlantic, throughout the day on monday and gets even worse monday night to early tuesday morning. here is what you can expect.

here is a timeline. tonight, we are going to see the surge start to build at the high tide, basically from north carolina all through new jersey. typical flood-prone areas. low-lying areas in coastal regions will start to see flooding because of the high tide and because of that storm surge. as we go into monday morning, that surge will build again at high tide, but from virginia all the way up to the south coast of long island. flooding, beach erosion, likely at that point. winds increase, and we'll notice power outages, that's just the start. as we go into monday afternoon, there you see that threat, that orange area, kind of pushes further inland. flag rains will start falling from delaware, maryland, hearing in. major wind damage likely. southern new england to long island, new york city and new jersey as well. the height of the storm monday night, this is when it's at its worst. flash flooding possible. historic wind damage, leaves are

on the trees and the ground is getting soaking wet. so the roots are not as stable in the ground. high tide is between 6:00 and 9:00 p.m. a storm surge of at least four to seven feet will cause flooding, especially in coastal areas and inland flooding, rivers start to overflow. tuesday, the storm lingers, and the worst of the will be over, and that's when we start the cleanup. the rain and behind will continue through the day on tuesday, and even though we're not talking about gusts, up around 80 miles per hour, we'll have sustained winds, 30 to 40. more stress and more pressure on the trees. that will be the biggest concern with trees toppling over. how will it play out with power outages? we could be talking about power outages through the week and perhaps next weekend. >> dylan, it seems like people have about 24 hours if they are not in mandatory evacuation zones to get their acts together, move things to higher ground within their homes. get prepared for whatever may

come in terms of flooding. what about the high winds? places in new york city with the skyscrap skyscrapers. is there a danger of glass shattering and the like? something we would typically see? >> it certainly is a possibility. the storm is probably going to make landfall somewhere in central or southern new jersey. but the wind field on this storm extends into new york city as well. the buildings are built to handle winds, but, you know, when you get winds that strong, it is going to be interesting to see how it plays out. it's the wind on top of that, the steady wind and the gusts even higher, so i think we're going to get some unusual damage, because it is such an unusual storm in the way it's hitting new york city. >> okay, dylan dryer, thank you very much. i know we'll see you later today. thousands of residents are urged to evacuate the coastal areas most at risk. today, people are rushing to complete preparations like boarding up businesses and stocking up on supplies. and experienced residents are listening to others. >> whatever they are calling it, a lot of people are nervous and

certainly has us nervous. >> you think it's going to be bad? >> i think so. >> i'm worried. we lucked out with irene, and i don't know. this may be worse. >> nbc's tom strong traung is l rehoboth beach, delaware. any residents left? >> they have about eight hours, the governor issues a mandatory evacuation area. everybody must be out by 8:00. look down the beach, have you several dozen people trying to get their last glimpse. right now, low tide. looks pretty impressive. come high tide, around 6:30, it wouldn't be a surprise if we didn't see water coming up to this fence here. all around rehoboth beach, a lot of businesses boarded up. people making runs to the grocery store, water short,

bread is short. people did what they could in terms of preparation. they had about eight hours, around that time, this area will be shut down. cut off the bridges and roads into here it won't be a very pleasant place to stay if the electricity is going to go out. which is a likelihood. 2,000 utility workers and we're talking about the maryland/dc area, baltimore areas, and states of emergencies in those areas as well. a lot of people anticipate what will happen as this gets further inland and we're starting to feel effects right now. the wind kicking up, and conditions should start deteriorating sometime tonight and into tomorrow, that's the major event. but this isn't just a coastal event. this thing moves further inland, we're anticipating a lot of inland flooding, four to eight inches of rain, here on the coast. anticipating between four to eight feet storm surge. this is a pretty impressive event, hey, than, looking around, are there any people out

there trying to check the scene out as we always see? the evacuation orders are in place for some hours from now the wind tells me that's not a pleasant place to be right now? >> no. right now i'll give you the pose i'm seeing, it's this. a lot of peoptaking pictures oft the ocean looks like. it will get rough in the next few hours. >> thank you very much. we appreciate the live report. we'll bring all of you more coverage in minutes from the weather channel and nbc correspondents covering the storm. it will happen throughout the day. live reports from the jersey shore coming up shortly. also coming up, will speak with fema director craig fugate. he will put perspective on this storm. it is big. front-page politics now. nine days to the election, hurricane sandy upsetting campaign schedules today. president obama is canceling stops in virginia on monday and colorado on tuesday.

he will return to the white house to monitor hurricane sandy. mitt romney joins running mate paul ryan in ohio for a bus tour across that state. and on "meet the press," two states, virginia and colorado, seen as holding the key to the election. >> $2 trillion to tand promisinx cuts without any specifics, right? trying to sell a pig in a poke. >> i believe we are currently ahead. internals show us currently ahead. i think romney will carry ohio, and, you know, i haven't been saying this. i know believe it's going to happen. >> a new "washington post" poll shows the race in virginia is getting closer. president obama leads mitt romney by four points. 51% to 47%.

president obama, a nod from "the new york times," the paper's editorial board is endorsing him for a second term. and mitt romney, another endorsement of his own. "the des moines register" supporting the republican nominee for president. joining me now, deputy political direct for for "the washington most," anne cornerbl blue. i do want to tell you that it was not a pretty picture as i was getting miked up and finishing makeup. i was on the phone with rick green of the vice president and editor of "the des moines register." they are not putting him out here today to elaborate on their decision and why they came to this decision to endorse mitt romney, he did tell me, bottomline, it was a lot of discussion. that newspaper believes if you look had 40 years from now, a

thoughtful, long-term approach to make a robust economy. they felt mitt romney got the nod that way, and governor romney had a better set of tools to break through the gridlock in washington, d.c. a lot of speculation as to why they may have endorsed mitt romney. they did give him an interview face to face. they said that had nothing to do with anything. that's from rick green, that said, how big a deal is this in a swing state like ohio? a paper with this record. or iowa rather. a paper that has this record, a paper considered to be a liberal-leaning paper. does this have influence? >> normally i would say no. i work for a newspaper, i like to think we're all powerful. but i think there are limits on endorsements, but in the case of "the des moines register," a very influential paper in iowa, as you just said. i do think it can make a difference, especially when it's seen as stirring the pot as this

one is. if they endorsed president obama, i think that would have probably been interpreted as what was expected. we would have taken note of it. >> "the new york times." >> and "post" editorial page, which i obviously had nothing to do with. but this is obviously counterintuity. and voters in a state like iowa, if there is anybody left there who is undecided, and those numbers are quite small, this will probably have some bearing on their thinking and for people who were feeling unmotivated to go to the polls for romney might say well, hang on a second, the momentum is really going his way. it's hard to overstate how close this is. the last time i felt a race this close, was 2000, and i could almost make the case this feels closer. some momentum, no matter how small, is meaningful. >> talk about the tenor of things and the fact that this

may make a difference, "the des moines register" going what was expected. look what happened in salt lake city with "the tribune" and endorse barack obama. what does this is a about where we are in the final nine days of the election? >> the big difference, nobody thinks utah is a swing state. so the salt lake paper can make that endorsement, and we'll point to it as evidence that salt lake city is different demographic than the rest of utah. that said, i think a lot of people have mixed feelings about which way this election is going to go. i think a lot of people who voted for barack obama have mixed feelings about whether they can support him again. that's why the race is so close. and these races are simply a reflection of that. >> let's talk about the impact of hurricane sandy. this storm has both campaigns shuffling their schedules, president obama, mitt romney. a key battleground state.

a state you can bet each one of them wanted to get to. if you look at the new poll coming from your paper. mitt romney trailing the president in that state by four points as opposed to eight. the way it was recently. what do you think the storm has impact as far as key states like this? >> again, normally i would say not much. a race this tight, tightening some. any stop that president or mitt romney makes in a local area gets a lot of coverage. draws a lot of people. can be an organizing tool. having to cancel those stops can make an impact on however many were planning to attend. the buzz, they are here, sending competing messages, in terms of earned media as they call it. it's certainly going to make a difference for them. what is being talked about in virginia is largely the storm and not the campaign speeches.

it could make a difference. no way to predict which way that cuts. for romney who wants to close that narrowing gap it could be he doesn't get the face time he needs, for obama, he gets to look presidential or the same. he doesn't get the face time he needs. simply no way to predict. we'll have to wait. >> and anne, we'll wait to speak with you later in the show. thank you so much. >> thank you. more on the top story. where hurricane sandy is right now, and how much stronger the storm is growing. are the warnings being taken seriously? live reports from the jersey shore next for you. first, the possibility of the popular vote and the electoral college vote being split. is that realistic? we'll talk about it on "weekends with alex wit." a febreze experiment. can a 30-day-old pluggable febreze make even this old container smell fresh? take a deep breath. describe the room that you're in.

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you're hanging on. >> yes, just just barely. it's gotten worse. when we first came in, it wasn't too bad. but i think this is a little stronger than we thought. >> hurricane sandy, hitting north carolina there with tropical force storm winds. right now, those same gusts being felt on the jersey shore. thousands have fled town to avoid the rath directly. and we have the latest from point pleasant, beach. ron, this is just the beginning, what does it feel like out there? what are the expectations for how much worse it will get? >> this is just the beginning, winds sustained at 25 miles per hour, gusting to 30 or so. the day is really deteriorating very quickly. and to give you an idea, the beach here, they are expecting maybe 8 to 10 foot storm surges,

the water behind me is raging already, and i'm standing at a line -- i don't know if you can see it, in the sand where high tide came earlier this morning, up to here, and they expect it to be deeper into town, about six blocks or so in that direction into town before this is over, irene came to the edge of the dunes here, this storm expected to go even deeper into the town. one of the barrier islands where there is a mandatory evacuation in place. we have been driving around, and for the most part, people are heeding the warning. today, there is somewhat a spectator event. a lot of people taking pictures. i have to believe they will be out of here by 4:00 this afternoon when the wind picks up, when the water picks up and it starts to rain, things will change dramatically. mandatory evacuation order in

effect by 4:00, all the way down the coast to atlantic city, where casinos are emptying out, because the governor and state officials don't want so many people in such a confined place. very limited routes out of this part of new jersey, up north and inland on the roadways. they want people to leave orderly and not create chaos if there is some kind of evacuation. back to you. >> ron, can i ask your camera man if he's hooked up to pan a little bit. you talk about the dunes and how with irene they went up to those grassy dunes in terms of the flooding and you're saying five or six blocks inland this thing is going to go. it doesn't look like there is a particularly tall buildup with the dunes. not a lot of barrier? dunes are about ten feet or so. we have sand pushing up where i am. there is a boardwalk, 10, 15 yards in that direction.

the barriers are here for relatively normal conditions which are bad, which cause a lot of beach erosion already. here they are trying to push this back and protect what they can. the other day, we were down here and there were bulldozers pushing up more sand to increase the size of the berm. all these houses, completely boarded up. a storm, fences in place. it will get rough down here. we won't stay if it gets really bad. they are trying to urge people to get out of town, half the town is evacuated. there are areas where people can stay a mile or so -- half mile in or so. again, things deteriorating fast. >> ron allen, thank you so much. from point pleasant beach, new jersey. an update on the latest of hurricane sandy when "weekends with alex witt" returns in a moment. i have a cold, and i took nyquil,

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now, during the break, everyone, we just learned that rhode island is now under a state of emergency. it is the ninth state to join that list along with the district of columbia. this as thousands of jersey shore residents are fleeing rough surf and high winds from hurricane sandy. governor chris christie ordered mass evacuations after declaring a state-wide emergency. danielle lee, live for us in cape may with the latest from there. danielle, conditions getting worse. let's check in with how bad it is right now. >> that's true, alex. all along the hotel i'm staying at, congress hall, all the windows are boarded up. they have done in this morning alone. homeowners are doing the same. the coast behind me, we have seen waves churning this morning and we're keeping an eye on hurricane sandy as it gets closer and closer.

we are under a mandatory evacuation order here. guests that had been staying at the hotel last night, had to hurry up, get up, get out before public transportation calls it quits ahead of the storm. many residents are boarding up homes. planning to stick it out through the storm and getting prepared. taking this seriously. i was at a grocery store last night, completely out of bottled water, just gotten a shipment in that morning, and had sold out. same thing with nonperishables and emergency equipment. batteries, flashlights, selling out of those quickly as people get ready for the storm. they don't want to be caught offguard. i'm danielle leigh, back to you. >> do you think everyone is pretty much heading the warnings? is that the general consensus, or you find people that are long-time holdouts, we're not leaving our home? >> that is true. people are taking it seriously. i was out on the beach this morning. we saw a couple of people out there surfing, but the plan is

to get in by this evening and be in place before the worst of this storm comes which is going to be monday night. >> okay. nbc danielle leigh, in cape may, thank you. putting hurricane sandy in perspective. a dramatic city description of this storm from the head of fema, coming up. e only way to f? challenge the need for such heavy measures with olay. regenerist micro-sculpting serum for firmer skin in 5 days. pretty heavy lifting for such a lightweight. [ female announcer ] olay regenerist.

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today, they are preparing for more cancelations tomorrow, but they want to move their equipment out of sandy's way. in just a matter of minutes, new jersey governor chris christie is expected to give a live update on storm preparations there. and meteorologist dylan dri dry back with the forecast track. too early to determine where sandy is going to make landfall? >> it is narrowed down. it doesn't matter if it hits central new jersey, southern new jersey or delaware. because of the size of the storm. tropical storm forys winds extend 500 miles out from the center of the storm. this is a monstrous storm with its sights set somewhere in the atlantic. the whole eastern seaboard has to deal with the effects of this. a category 1 hurricane. 575 miles directly south of new york city. we have coastal flood warnings

extending from the coast of southern new england, all the way through long island, down to new jersey, delaware, maryland as well. this is for your coastal flood concernings. the surge comes in. basically a surge comes in, have you your rise and fall of the tides. imagine the tide going that much higher as the storm surges out over the atlantic and the winds push that water on shore. have you your normal high tide and 4 to 7 feet higher than that normal high tide. that's what we're talking about when we say the word surge. so it's a big deal when you are talking about coastal areas. we also have high wind warnings posted all throughout the northeast. look how far west they extend. back to pittsburgh, to cleveland. this is a massive storm, and once it makes its way onshore, we'll see winds extend further inland this storm is the size of say boston down to char locallo.

a huge expanse, and making its way through salisbury, maryland, to eastern north carolina, where they are dealing with rain for quite some time. winds gusting to 40 to 50 miles per hour. the form is still going to take the northwest turn. a closer look at the timing, monday night, 8:00 p.m. a category 1 hurricane, winds up to 80 miles per hour. it will weaken as it makes its way onshore. it doesn't lose steam. the storm will produce wind gusts up to around say 80 miles per hour. that's intense wind. on top of that, we'll see sustained winds. stant wind going up to 40 to 50 miles per hour. rainfall totals, anywhere from eight to nine inches, isolated amounts close to a foot of rainfall. the coastal flooding, and the ground gets more and more filled up with water, and the power outages will be the biggest

concern, so expect days without power once your power does go out. most likely, downed tree on a power line or something like that. power outages will take a long time to clear up. alex. >> a lot to anticipate, thank you for the heads up, dylan dreyer. coming up, we'll speak with craig fugate at the end of the hour. let's go to politics and strategy talk. one of the big headlines today. mitt romney with a surprise endorsement from "the des moines register." joining me now is howard dean and joe watkins, former white house aide under george w. bush. >> good to see you, alex. how are you? >> i'm well, thank you. >> governor dean, look at this first republican endorsement since 1972 from "the des moines register," after president obama wasn't able to meet with the editorial board in person.

do you thiyou think that had an influence. i spoke with rick green, he said it didn't. >> petulence is a major factor in newsrooms. look, they endorsed john edwards in the '04 primary. endorsements don't matter very much in races like this. they matter in down ballot races where people don't know them very much, but i don't think anybody is waiting to decide in this incredibly close election to see what "the des moines register" does. people read editorials because they are written by smart people, but they are read by smart people as well. >> i spoke with anne cornblunt, and she brought up that the tribune in salt lake city endorsed president obama. that state is going red, we know that. but in the state of iowa, sir, a small percentage of people still

undecided, one that could go either way, might it in this case make a difference? >> i think it's very unlikely. i think that endorsements don't influence people except in down ballot races. "the new york times" just endorsed obama. what a surprise. i don't think that will have any influence either. i'm sure it's a well-written editorial. i haven't seen it, but endorsements don't matter when people know the candidates as well as they know barack obama and mitt romney. >> you i'm sure you saw the comment from thursday night from john sununu. >> when you take a look at colin powell, is that an endorsement based on issues or he has a slightly different reason for preferring president obama. >> what reason would that be? >> i think when you have somebody of your own race that you are proud of being president of the united states, applaud

colin for standing with him. >> what was your reaction to that? >> i am sorry about that comment. i think that general powell endorsed president obama because he thinks president obama is the best person of the job. i don't think general powell is prone to make decisions on people based on skin color. i would agree strongly about the comments made by mr. sununu, even though i used to work under him at the white house. i think people base endorsements on who they think is the best person for the job. i am proud that an african-american is president of the united states. i happen to support mitt romney, and i made that decision based on the facts of what i think are the important issues that move me. i'm sorry that governor sununu made a comment like that. >> listening to what you are saying, joe, where is the

outrage from your party about this statement? >> i think there are so many statements made in the closing days of the campaign, nobody is paying attention to the comments. the race is very close, and i agree with governor dean, endorsements don't mean a whole lot. except in a case like this. where the race will be razor thin, the margin of victory may be razor thin. any endorsement is certainly helpful to mitt romney in iowa. >> this came in the very same week as richard mourdock's rape comment. and the list goes on. are you comfortable with where your party is headed? which direction it's going in? >> i think it's fair to say that people say things sometimes that many others don't agree with, including people in their own party, and i'm a christian guy. i'm a pastor of a church, and i pray for people who say things

that are hurtful to other people, and then i move on. i hope that others will do the same. i'm sorry about some of the remarks that people in my party have made that have been hurtful to other people. but i hope people look at the big picture and look at issues like economy and jobs and make a decision based on that. >> to both governor dean, you first. who do you see as being moderately minded, openly minded, all of that, that you think democrats and republicans can work together? >> i'm sure there are some, but, unfortunately, the past few weeks, the people who don't have those open minds are the ones who have gotten all of the headlines, you can define a party based on the fringes. i like the basic -- the basic

formaft our party. we care about people, we're interested in all people, not just a few. i'm not a republican, because the fringe of the republican party, a pretty significant group. really preaches hate. i don't think that's right. i also thank joe for his being standup about sununu's remarks, and i respect joe, not because i support mitt romney, which i certainly don't, because he does, and he does it for the right reasons, and i think, joe, you've been very helpful just now in trying to mitigate some of the hurtful comments that have been made. i think after the election, we'll find people to work with in the opposite party to make these people work with again. but it's hard to do in the last ten days of the campaign when people are saying outrageous things on both sides. >> guys, i'll leave it there. thank you, both, so much. good to talks to you both. more on our breaking story. a live report from new york city

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and invest more here than anywhere else. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. our commitment has never been stronger. welcome back, everyone. we are tracking hurricane sandy and tonight that storm will take an historically unheard of left turn toward the jersey shore. the peak of the storm should hit late tomorrow night. more on that in a moment. i went through the msnbc newsroom to talk about the election, and you'll hear their thoughts on what they think the president shuck taould tackle f after the election. >> is going to start way relationship with congress. i don't know how it's going to happen. we know not only congress is polarized but the american people seem to be increasingly

polarized, and the bit challenge for the next president will be to find a way to bring people together to make decisions. >> well, for mitt romney, it's obama care, providing 12 million jobs, a lot of things that he has promised on day one. but i think day one will come and go the first 100 days that everyone is looking at whenever the next president steps into office. whether it's a second term for president obama or first term for president mitt romney. with president obama, i think what goes forward is the fact that now that this would be a settled eight-year deal, that congress -- things in congress would most likely free up. that this wouldn't be about people people on the right trying to make this a one-term presidency. >> i think health care probably has the biggest impact on the economy. and it affects every family. so i would like to see president obama go right back to health

care. and to strengthen what we've got so far. and you will always have intensified effort to create jobs in america. that's -- no matter who wins the election that will have to be the focus, but i think for president obama, i think health care again, and i think immigration. >> i don't have children, have you children. i have nieces and nephews, i want them to be able to go to college and have a great life. so our definition of the american dream, greatly varied, some people want to live on the upper east side. other people just want a nice house in the suburbs with a great school that they can send their kids to that's a public school, but i don't have to shell out 20 grand a year for kindergarten. so the american dream has many definitions, but i think whomever is elected, certainly has to build a confidence in our country again that it is attainable, not for a select few. >> i have strong views, i think the biggest problem in the history is race, we have whatever we have now, which

isn't so great. we have to solve the race thing and solve it honestly. no more games, no more political politics about it we have to stop this going to war. this is serious business. war, race, and those are the issues that make me concerned about who wins elections. >> i think there are systemic problems about why the country is ill and the economy is not doing well. a lot of those issues have to do with the income disparity between the very rich and the very poor. we talk about the american dream, but that's predicated on the notion of american mobility, something increasingly going the way of the dinosaur. a number of factors contribute. education one of them. training is another. and in terms of our tax structure it needs to be more progressive than it is now, and i think we really need a leader who is going to address those changes and work on rebuilding the very systems that make america america. >> the honeymoon. >> that's something on your

mind. >> yeah. it was really great. these wedding things are hard. planning. >> can i see a picture, though. >> yeah. let's see. >> you guys are a great looking couple. >> look at that. that is us from our wedding day. the honeymoon is great. we went to brazil, and we went hang glided and spent a lot of time biking and going on the beach, and we hiked sugarloaf mountain. it was great. and really nice to go away. and i have to be honest, the first two days it rained while we were there, so we were all caught up on down abbey. >> i can't remember the last time i was around the dinner table. last movie i saw was "argo." i love clint eastwood. but i really liked "trouble with the curve." a hell of a movie. great. >> when do you have time to see a movie?

>> i'm working on a book too. i keep working. what else is there? >> no time to see a movie. >> i see them all. you're wrong. all of them. >>chr chris particularly enjoye telling me i was wrong. a programming note, we want to invite you to watch "morning joe" for joe and mika's interview with president obama. starting at 6:00 eastern here on msnbc. president obama headed to fema right now to talk about hurricane sandy. his remarks expected in the next hour. we'll bring them to you and i'm talking with the head of fema, next. [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where you don't back down from a challenge. this is the age of knowing how to make things happen. so, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex.

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the current radar for hurricane sandy. a live update on the forecast track coming your way at the top of the hour. of course, local and federal officials are warning people in the storm's path that today is

the last day to prepare. right now, nine states and washington, d.c. are under a state of emergency, rhode island is the latest on the list. thousands are evacuating coastal areas, shelters opening up, and hundreds of power crews are on the move at this hour. heading to the east coast from as far away as illinois and alabama. joining me now is fema director craig few gai craig fugate. put into perspective the enormity of the preparations are we have a hurricane, a blizzard, an inland flood threat and a gale into one storm. covering all of the northeastern united states, a lot of preparation, a lot of areas, and particularly today, starting to see more risk from storam surge developing and evacuation required in certain coastal community. >> with regard to fema, where are you positioned with the

enormity of the geography of this? >> we started back friday, realizing that this was going to be a potential impact, began moving teams, maybe those teams have arrived. they are staged throughout the region. like everyone else, not exactly sure where the hardest hit areas may be. from the carolinas up to maine and inland, we have teams, equipment, staging, ready to support governors, depending upon the impacts of the storm. >> people always talk about being for days without power. what's the setup you have to be prepared for that? >> that's what we're anticipating. i think today, we really want to focus on the storm surge risk. coastal evacuation orders. people inland, prepare for power outages for days, making sure you have supplies. it will get cold. also, a significant flash flood and flood risk along rivers. also not -- if you're not on the coast, not out of the woods, need to pay attention. may be something over the next couple of days, as the rain

continues to fall, evacuations inland may be required on some of the rivers. >> craig, you used the word -- all the different words to describe what's going on. i heard the word historic used many times. do you agree with that? can put this in context? >> everybody is trying to describe this. what we really want people to focus on, what are the impacts in your community, and what are local officials telling you you need to get ready, whether evacuate, prepare for power outages, prepare for potentially heavy snowfall, not something you usually talk about with hurricanes, or flooding. so, again, it's those local officials, local forecasts, you want to focus on the impacts, because what's going to happen to your community is what you want to prepare for. this storm will be so big, over so many different areas, that people need to really focus in on what does it mean in my community? what die need do i need to get?

>> you have spoken with the president. what is his message? >> we've spoken with the president daily, what do we need in place? we've spoken to the governors. again, large area, getting resources in, and the message from the president is we're preparing, we want americans to prepare. get ready for the storm. >> all right, craig fugate, thank you for your message for msnbc viewers. best of luck, appreciate the time. at the top of the hour, the latest forecast for hurricane sandy. live reports from up and down the east coast when "weekends with alex witt" continues. and every footstep should tell us we made the right decision. so when we can feel our way through the newest, softest, and most colorful options... ...across every possible price range... ...our budgets won't be picking the style. we will. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now get $37 basic installation on all special order carpet.

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the east coast. a massive and dangerous storm that will bring with it life-threatening storm surge and hurricane-force winds from virginia to massachusetts. flight delays getting worse at new york's laguardia. delays reach two hours. right now, the president is meeting with officials at fema headquarters to go over the plans for those communities impacted. officials are ordering thousands to evacuate low-lying coastal areas, and evacuations under way in parts of five coastal states. we have reporters all over the region for you, including michelle franzen in new york city. ron allen, danielle leigh, thuong traung, and we have dylan dreyer. let's get the latest on the

direction and the storm. where is it going to land specifically? >> it looks like new jersey coastline, somewhere central or southern new jersey is the area that's going to get the direct hit. by either a hurricane, post tropical cyclone. whatever name it takes on by the time it reaches the jersey shore, it doesn't matter, this is a powerful storm with tropical storm force winds extending more than 500 miles out from the center of this storm. it's huge. massive and powerful winds and torrential rains that will stick around for days. right now, the current path of this storm is still northeast at 14 miles per hour. no doubt it will take a turn to the northwest. and look at just the sheer size of this storm. it extends almost from boston down to charlotte, north carolina, and it's that huge of a storm that the influence will be felt all across the eastern seaboard at almost the same

time. it will be bad from virginia, delaware, maryland, washington, d.c., into new jersey, and up to southern new england as well. current wind gusts, 40 to 50 miles per hour from virginia beach to northeastern north carolina. and salisbury, reporting gusts up to 32 miles per hour with outer bands of rain extending on shore, producing torrential rains right now. actually it has been moderate most of the day yesterday. it did pick up in intensity throughout the day yesterday. the high pressure system is the reason why we are so confident in saying that this storm is going to hit somewhere in new jersey. the storm has nowhere to go. it has to go to the northwest. it can't physically go to the northeast. the shy like a shield that blocks it from moving. it will curve up and around it since it can't go through it. that's the path of the storm, and the problem is, even once it makes landfall in new jersey, it sits over southeastern pennsylvania for a little while. so even inland flooding is going to be a major concern with about

ten to maybe up to 12 inches of rainfall possible. monday night to tuesday morning, that's when the storm is going to be at its worst. the height of the storm is going to affect areas like new jersey with that storm surge that comes at the time of high tide. 6:00 to 9:00 monday evening. high tide and storm surge, perhaps as high as 4 to 7 feet and rainfall up to around 7 to 9 inches. that's a lot of water. the only thing working in our favor here is the fact that the ground has been dry and rivers fairly low because of a lack of rainfall most of this season. the break down for this evening, surge will build as the storm makes its way through the atlantic. we'll see typical flood-prone areas, and low-lying coastal areas. we'll start to see the flooding due to the high tide this evening. as we go into tomorrow morning, that's when the surge will continue to build from virginia to long island. flooding and beach elegs will be likely because of high tide.

wind damage and power outages, we'll start to notice those as early as tomorrow morning. and tomorrow afternoon, flooding rains, start to push inland. also start to notice major wind damage, more power outages and then we get to the peak of the storm. that's monday night. wind gusts, 80 miles per hour. sustained winds 40 to 60 miles per hour. wind and rain, combines with the soft ground and the leaves on the trees, and that's why so many trees will come down. combine that with high tide at 6:00 to 9:00, and coastal flooding is a huge concern. we go into tuesday, the storm is not going anywhere too quickly. it sits over pennsylvania, the torrential rains, flooding rains continue for unland towns, rivers start to overflow their banks, and the tide cycles come and go, and the winds will be sustained up to around 30 to 40 miles per hour with highest gusts as well a lot of stress on

the trees and power lines too. that's why we're focused so much on getting all the supplies you need right now, charging your cell phones now, once the power goes out it could stay out for an extended period of time. perhaps the weekend, into next week as well. >> all good advice. the peak is monday night. there is something particularly ominous when they come ashore at night. thank you, dylan. millions of residents only have a few hours of daylight to prepare for sandy. homeowners are stocking up on supplies and boarding up windows. we're in rerehoboth beach, delaware. >> a lot of people are heeding evacuation orders. this is low tide, looks pretty impressive. as conditions start to deteriorate and go downhill.

a lot of that water will push up to this area, probably to the fence, maybe even beyond. evacuation order impacts roughly 50,000 people in the coastal delaware area and extends to the whole delmarva peninsula. it will encompass a lot of areas of maryland, virginia as well. anticipating 4 to 8 feet of tidal surge, storm surge coming up. as the storm system moves further inland, they are expecting 4 to 8 inches. i spoke to one of the representatives of the red cross, he says this will be a massive response for the red cross. moved in more than 400 people, coming from the mid-atlantic up to new york. anticipating a huge response to this, and telling people right now to get your preparation and your evacuation and emergency plans together, the wind is really closing in right now. they are anticipating that when this actually starts to happen, we are probably looking at in the next few hours, as conditions start to worsen, think about your family and what

it will be like if you actually do stay. there is no power, possibly no water as well. if you have the time and the opportunity, get out now. it won't be very comfortable to say the least if you do say. and probably this will get even worse as you head through the night. the next few hours, it will get even worse. >> okay, than troung, thank you for watching that for us in delaware. let's head down the coast. julie martin live in nags head. looks like you feel the outer bands arrives, right? >> we've been dealing with that even more. er since midnight. tropical storm conditions in the outer banks and gusts well over 50 miles an hour here in nags head, and it's a blinding, stinging rain that is coming offshore, and still coming on shore. more of a northerly wind right now. take a look at the atlantic, we're at low tide as well, but, still, the atlantic churning

like a wash tub out there. that old pier is still handling it pretty well. hasn't come apart yet, but we've seen shingles come off the structure on top, which i believe is a restaurant. beaches, which were replenished about a year ago, holding back a lot of water and doing what they should to protect the beautiful homes here along this strip of land. however, coastal flooding along the outer banks, highway 12 to cape hatteras, completely impassable at this point. we've seen a couple thousand power outages as well. and the thing with this, alex. not a sprint, it's a marathon. we'll deal with conditions all day long, all night long here, sandy is still well offshore, and probably not going to see it pass until early tomorrow morning, 2:00 in the morning until it takes a left and heads your way. this is sort of a -- a precursor to what is to come up in the northeast for millions of people, in fact, you're going to

see even worse conditions than this. keep in mind, sandy well out at sea, and we're dealing with this mess. >> julie martin, thanks for the heads up. a minimal idea of what we will get come our way. as julie was saying right now, the country's biggest city, new york, taking historic precautions. shutting down the mass transit system. only second time it's been done. and mandatory evacuation orders in low-lying areas. public schools will be closed tomorrow. michelle franzen in battery park, part of the evacuation zone, right where you are, michelle, i remember a year ago this time with irene, all of the water coming up in that area, that may be again the case. are people leaving the area? >> pretty likely, alex, water will leave this area. people aren't leaving en masse. they have heard the warnings, warnings from new york's mayor,

michael bloomberg and new york state's governor, andrew cuomo, who both held briefings today. we're in battery park, southern tip of manhattan. if you have ever been as a tourist this is where you board the boats to go to the statue of liberty. this is a huge residential area, combined with the other boroughs in zone a, that michael bloomberg, the mayor, has ordered to evacuate. 375,000 people have been told to make plans to leave the area. that's because they are expecting bigger surge than what we were last year during irene, when they same through, and they are making preparations for worst-case scenario. new york's mass transit, getting ready to shut down. new york's governor, giving us an idea of why they are moving forward with shutting down mass transit. >> it is unsafe to operate the trains in high winds.

second, we don't want the equipment damaged, and trains are designed to deal with a lot of tough duty. they are not intended to be submerge. and we don't want to damage the equipment and then have a real problem getting the system up and running. thirdly, we don't want to encourage people being up and about. we want people staying in it their homes. >> reporter: again, this area here is supposed to have water come in in the next 24 to 48 hours. just really quickly, you asked if people were leaving. a lot of the same routine. a couple of tour groups, people doing their jogging and just trying to do life as normal right now, but the city is stressing this is your time to start preparation, to make sure you have a plan with your family, in your neighborhood, and, really, take this storm seriously. >> michelle franzen, thank you

for the heads up in battery park. up to politics, nine days to the presidential election. in a moment, we'll explore the possibilities. what if the president is re-elected, or mitt romney wins the white house? how will the country change? we'll take a look next on "weekends with alex wit." [ male announcer ] do you have the legal protection you need? at legalzoom, we've created a better place to turn for your legal matters. maybe you want to incorporate a business you'd like to start. or protect your family with a will or living trust. legalzoom makes it easy with step-by-step help when completing your personalized document -- or you can even access an attorney to guide you along. with an "a" rating from the better business bureau legalzoom helps you get personalized and affordable legal protection. in most states, a legal plan attorney is available with every personalized document to answer any questions. get started at legalzoom.com today. and now you're protected. get started at legalzoom.com today. were you profitable last month?hat looks great. how much money is in your checking account? have the browns paid you for their addition yet?

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. 16 past. breaking news. hurricane sandy expected to hit somewhere in new jersey tomorrow. we're following all of the latest on sandy. we'll bring you more. right now, to front page politics with nine days to go before the election, both

campaigns unleashing final arguments. >> the kind of things that grow the economy, create good jobs and give people the training and education they need, that matches the president's plan. governor romney's plan is to go back to the trickle down plan of the past. >> this is about the president's policies, the current state of the economy. a complete disaster, and only one person has been very clear on a plan to get the economy back on track, that's governor romney. the president hasn't delivered anything serious as a plan. that's his problem. nothing there. >> well, hurricane sandy has prompted president obama to cancel visits to virginia and colorado. instead, he'll make stops in florida and ohio on monday before returning to the white house. governor romney, canceling plans to visit virginia today. he's switched his visit to ohio. he has a rally at the top of the hour in the city of seof salina.

and those voters in the battleground states are finding a mitt-zine. it is paid for by a super pac is in ohio, iowa, wisconsin, colorado, and virginia. few elections have seen the country as such an ideological crossroads. what happens on november 7th? and the four years that follow? what does it say about the american people? joining me for this discussion, blanche lincoln, retired admiral and former democratic congressman, joe sestak, and a professor at lehigh university. thank you for being here. >> senator lincoln, we like to go ladies first. what is the message that the american people are sending if they elect mitt romney? >> well, i think it's so close right now that the message is the same to both of them. the american people truly want

thoughtful leadership, they want results more than anything. and they want somebody that's going to bring together people to work together, you know, to deal with the issues that we ha have. the issues weren't created overnight. and i don't think the expectations are they will be solved overnight. i think american people believe that people have to work together and have to focus on results. i think that, you know, if talk to those who are undecided, that's kind of what they are looking for, and that's who this election is going to fall on, and, you know, great places where they can do this. sensible regulations, regulatory reform. one of the fastest, most easy and thoughtful ways we can really drive the economy, through small businesses or large. a great place to start. >> and with the senator's focus there on the domesticic eaus wo issues, i want to focus on that with you, mr. sestak.

with america's role in the world, does that change if mitt romney is directly? >> i don't think it drastically changes. both have spoken about a strong leadership role in the world. there is more recognition with president obama this is a pretty complex world and at times, you have to speak softly, but carry a big stick. but i think our overall engagement, will be the same. you will see differences i think that mitt romney believes that american power has to be ready and abroad, but not as much to try and resolve a problem, like between the palestinians and israelis. as he said one time, that's something we kicked down the road and see what happens. keeping our eye on it the important issue here is china we've already seen, however, that the president has already moved 60% of our naval forces into the western pracific. this is a bold move. some would call president obama

a war-mongering president. he recognizes this is the strength of the president overall, and we always give him the nod. china is emerge owning the scene and had naval conflicts with the philippines and vietnam and even korea and japan. we can be an honest broker and trying to prevent a crisis from becoming a conflict. the two i both respect but i give my nod to the president as he approaches things wisely, strongly, but understanding the complexity of the world. >> james, there certainly seem to be a general good will, when america elected its first african-american president in 2008, even if you didn't vote for him. will that be turned back if the president doesn't win re-election? >> i don't know if it will turn it back. i don't know if we can mark it definitively and clearly as an advance. we're talking about advances in race relations, i think you will see democrats across the board will be disappointed. a lot of black and latino folk

happen to vote democratic if their candidate happens to lose, which i don't think will happen. if if president obama does lose, they will be disappointed. and disappointment based on the political party piece and the loss of a presidential election. >> okay. senator lincoln, admiral sestak, i want to ask both of you. in terms of what you saw in the halls of congress, what can be done by those in power to keep things moving forward? to help get past this spirit of partisanship that has stalled everything so dramatically? senator lincoln, to you first. >> first of all, i think they have to certainly reassure one another, it's not the individual battles they are fighting, but the war we have to win, and the war is fought by us all as americans, whether it's the economy, education, health care, or anything else. they also need to spend more time together, and that doesn't mean being in session longer, they are already in session way

too much, but it's spending time together, so that they gain the kind of prepare that allows them to disagree without being disagreeable or ugly to one another. and the second -- the last i would say is look for the consensus first. that's what i always try to do, and i worked, you know, tremendously with both democrats and republicans, but looking to see where we had the consensus, where we agreed, and build outward from that to get something that will move us forward and don't and it to be a work of art, but more a work in progress, so we're taking the steeps we need to solve these problems. >> joe, i have heard you weigh in on this. i know your stance on this, on being moderate and understanding. you have to bring parties together. can i go back to what i was asking james with you, in terms of the tenor of things. if we don't re-elect this president the first african-american president, do you feel we've taken the step

backward in our effort to solve race relation issues. >> no, i don't. i really, really don't. at the end of the day, as and i go throughout pennsylvania, some very conservative places. i think americans are really a very pragmatic, sensible person. they are not fools, and at the end of the day, they are going into the booth to pull the lever for their children. i do believe what they see today is what you just spoke with the senator about. the failure of accountability and the part of the political leaders. they have seen too many times and now it really does matter as we face so many crises like our fiscal ones, where leaders make promises and don't commit to them. the biggest problem in america today, is the trust deficit. that's what the president promised us, and why so many people of all colors came toward him when he was first elected. he was going to reform washington, d.c. and frankly, we haven't achieved that. focused on that more than

anything is what has to happen. >> james, this trust deficit, do you think that extends into the halls of congress as well. in terms of the partisanship, that we feel on capitol hill, how do you see us moving past? can trust be brought between the two sides? >> well, it's really difficult. we don't see enough authenticity, especially on the right in terms of the can daylig candidates put forward. when we have comments about women's issue and rape, we can't have that. talking about congress getting back on track, it's not about consensus. instead of taking oaths from grover norquist, can we get money out of politics? can we reduce the amount of special interest influence on the congress? can we reduce the amount of lobbyists or the number of lobbyists that have access to our elected officials? that's how the get the trust invested back in the american

people. the reason we vote at 40% to 60% level of american voter, it's difficult to trust a system that has so much money in it and seems to be so outdated. >> can i get a yes or no answer to that question, getting money out of politics, from both of you? our former elected officials? blanche lincoln, you first. >> absolutely. i think you have to realize that so much of the money that's being spent in all of these races is from outside their districts, outside their states. i mean, my race was that way. you know, if people -- the parties as well. people need to be able to see who their elected officials are going to be they need to know what those officials stand by and what they are dedicated to. >> okay. so much on the air waves and elsewhere, it's really hard for them to get that. >> joe, quickly, can you weigh in? >> yes, the answer is absolutely yes. if you can remove money from politics, you solve about 80% of the problems.

look, we also need some titans it means you believe in your principals, but like a george bush on immigration with an ed kennedy, both sides of the far right and far left of the parties to do on education. you can have the ability to hold your principles, but do a principled compromise, and, unfortunately, money too often intrudes upon that. >> what a great conversation. i thank all of you for that. blanche lincoln, joe sestak, james peterson, much appreciated. >> thank you, alex. keeping our eye on hurricane sandy, historic storm projected to hit the mid-atlantic states. it is expected to be felt over an 800-mile area. more reports coming up on "weekends with alex witt." maybe new buildings? what about updated equipment? they can help, but recent research shows... ... nothing transforms schools like investing

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moving toward the mid-atlantic and the northeast coastlines. a full forecast for you coming up in a moment. meanwhile, mandatory evacuations already under way in five states, and that would include now new york city. hundreds of thousands of people live within the evacuation zones, most of them the low-lying coastal areas, and just moments ago, new jersey governor chris christie announced new jersey transit, suspending all of its service, the gradual withdrawal of buss and trains that begins this afternoon. we expect the governor to update residents at the top of the hour. we'll wait for the news conference and bring it to you then. dylan dreyer back with the latest forecast track. with the advisory at the top of the hour, what do you think we'll hear, dylan? >> i think we'll hear more of the same. i don't think the storm is losing strength if it ever gets downgraded back to a tropical storm or post tropical cyclone. it doesn't make a difference. just a title. just something to call it. either way this is going to be a major storm, affecting the entire eastern seaboard.

and it's so huge. so it's going to affect a wide, expansive area, all at once. that's an issue with this storm. a category 1 hurricane. 75 mile per hour winds. look how far away 573 miles south of new york city. it's about more than 300 miles east of the carolinas. you've already seen the damage it's doing with 50-mile-per-hour gusts in some spots. virginia beach, picked up an inch and a half of rainfall, and the storm is so far away, imagine what's going to happen as the storm gets closer. which it is going to do as it takes a turn to the northwest. coastal floods warnings from new england to new jersey, delaware, and maryland. we have high wind warnings posted everywhere pretty much across the northeast. extending to eastern ohio. that's how huge this storm is. tropical storm force winds, extend 520 miles out from the center of this storm. here is the latest radar. we have sustained winds up to around 20 to 30 miles per hour

in portions of virginia, down to northeastern north carolina, through maryland, into delaware now. the heaviest of the rain moved through salisbury, maryland, but the bulk of the precipitation is still out over the water. there are torrential downpours, they will make their way onshore as we go into monday and tuesday. the storm is still taking the turn to the northwest. it has high pressure system to the northeast, so it has nowhere else to go, but somewhere in new jersey. that's why we're so confident that these evacuations are mandatory, because we know this storm is going to hit, and it really has no chance to lose any steam. monday at 8:00 at night, still forecast to have 80-mile-per-hour winds, then it makes its way on storm, and tuesday at 8:00 a.m., winds will still be up to around 70 miles per hour. so it's at its worst point, this storm at its peek, monday evening to tuesday morning. through the mid-atlantic region. rainfall amounts, 4 to 8 inches with isolated areas picking up

10 to 12 inches of rain water. that's why we'll see inland flooding, coastal flooding on top of that because of a four to seven-foot storm surge. high tide cycle monday night between 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. and the height of the storm coming in at that same time, we'll see the water levels rye so much along coastal areas, and that's why it's important to get out while you can, before any of that happens and we'll see the ebb and glflow of the tide. the storm moves away, and the winds at the peek of the storm could gust 70 to 80 miles an hour. puts a lot of pressure on the trees, and we could see power outages, i hate to say it, just for several weeks, because the cleanup will take so long after the storm hits. >> okay, a lot to anticipate. thank you very much. dylan dreyer for that. president obama heading to church with daughters sasha and

malia with their god mother. and afterward, he went straight to fema. we'll bring you the update. stay with us. rkers everywhere trust duracell...?? duralock power preserve. locks in power for up to 10 years in storage. now...guaranteed. duracell with duralock. trusted everywhere.

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in a midsize sedan. the volkswagen passat. winner of a motor trend midsize sedan comparison. that's the power of german engineering. breaking news. millions prepare for hurricane sandy, delta air lines just tweeted this announcement. all delta monday flights in and out of new york city and philadelphia airports will be canceled. but the new york stock exchange plans normal operations tomorrow. new york city's transit and schools will be closed. also this just in. governor cuomo, planning a news conference 2:30 p.m. eastern time with updates for the state of new york and new york city. and ron allen in point pleasant beach, new jersey for us. ron what is the latest from you? last we checked, surf was enormous. wow, looks like it's even worse. >> reporter: it's getting bigger, and it's getting stronger. last time we put a block on it, 30-mile-per-hour gusts, i think it's getting stronger.

you can see the enormous expanse of beach, completely empty now. there were some people down here earlier, taking pictures and gawking at the waves and everything, but they've moved back and most of the people that i talked to, informal poll, say they are leaving, only a few people said they would hang around and try and ride this out. some live a mile away from the shore. intown, police have been going door to door, trying to force a man tomandatory evacuation. point pleasant beach and the other barrier island towns, pretty deserted. all of the towns completely boarded up and evacuated. people taking this seriously, there are lines at gas stations, you can obviously see there is traffic moving off the islands, over the bridges, to the mainland, but the storm surge here is going to be about -- well, they say 8 to 10 feet, which means this entire beach is going to be covered with water,

several feet deep. and the water could push back into town, about six blocks or so, going in that direction. again, several feet deep. so there is a barrier of dunes here that will block what it can, and that helped when irene hit and the water stopped there, but this storm is expected to top those dunes, go over these dunes, back into the town. that's why they have a mandatory evacuation right now. and people are saying that when irene hit here, there wasn't a lot of coastal damage. most of the damage was further inland. and the beaches were spared for the most part. this storm will be very different. people are saying, the forecasters are saying, bottom line, this beach empty, people taking it very seriously. >> that's the best news for now. with the surf and the description are you giving, a pretty powerful punch could be coming to point pleasant. in a moment, the impact hurricane sandy could have on the last days of the presidential campaign and a

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this breaking news, as we track hurricane sandy. officials are warning people in the storm's path, today is it. the last day you have to prepare. we have just learned, washington, d.c. public schools will be closed tomorrow. they join new york city schools closed tomorrow. we'll have more on all of this in a few minutes. but now it's time for the big three. and today's topics, sandy impact? surprise nod? and this week's must reads. let's bring in the big three panel. correspondent for "the guardian" anna marie cox, robert trainum, and anne cornblut. a big welcome to my three of you, the big three. anna marie, first to sandy's potential impact. we have the president, canceled visits to virginia and colorado, he heads to florida and ohio tomorrow, before returning to the white house, where he will

monitor the storm. in virginia, the president's lead has slipped from eight points to four points in the new "washington post" poll. let's ahead, we just have gotten word that tomorrow's early voting has been canceled due to the storm by governor malley. what impact might this have with early voting and states like virginia. >> obviously it will impact early voting. even with early voting, people tend to wait until the last minute, so to speak. there is some talk that this will freeze the race, due to potential power outages, we'll get break from the ads. we have no idea what will happen. there aren't a lot of models for this. in one case, we have a better model predicting the weather than predicting the election. >> i talked with craig fugate,

director of fema he said we have a hurricane, a blizzard, inland flood threat, and a gale. all together. mitt romney has joined paul ryan on the bus tour in ohio. what impact could sandy have now that the president and governor are skipping stops in key battleground states. does this favor one candidate over the other? does it hurt your guy who is getting somewhat of a surge? >> i'm not exactly sure yet. we simply don't know. here is the pluses and mind us ins, the president looks presidential here on the national stage, if, in fact, god forbid we have a national emergency. a lot of people will look at him differently. the minuses, as you mentioned a few moments ago, early voting very well could be tempered if you will, which probably politically speaking would help the president. the flipside, it stops a little

bit of the momentum that president obama has in ohio and to a certain degree when it comes to the storm, so there are political ramifications clearly, but also some practical ramifications as well, and as ana marie said a few moments ago, chaos looms, unfortunately. >> anne, in terms of the presidential prospective, president obama just finished talking with craig fugate and the director of fema, and we're waiting for the tape to turn around. we'll get comments in a moment. how much does this help him potentially? this platform for which he is the president of the united states during a really terrible time for about a sixth of the country? >> i think robert is right. he does have a chance to look presidential, although being the president, he gets to look presidential whenever he wants. he has to pay extra mind to the storm and be seen as actually presiding over it, doing his best to make sure he's on top of it. that's a lot to ask somebody a week and a couple of days just before the election. i think that probably the bigger

danger, in addition to the ones that the other two mentioned, people simply aren't going to be talking about voting. they aren't talking about the election. we are talking about the impact on the election, but i think people, especially those within the path of the storm, will be talking about how to get flashlights and batteries and get out of their house and people who have relatives in the states will be diverted to talk about that so i suspect that's a welcome diversion for many people who have grown sick of the election, think i for both sides, who have counted on this being a final push, it throws a wrench into it. >> can i speak to that for a second? just very quickly, anne is very right here. this is people's personal lives. lives are at stake here, potentially millions of lives. both candidates have to walk a fine line not to be political with this, not play games. >> the point can be brought up with you, anne marie, if mitt romney is in front of these large campaign rallies and these grounds, any risk that looks like he has a tin ear? granted, he will be in places

that are safe. those around him won't be in the way of the impact of the storm. but otherwise do you think that can be a problem? >> i do think it can. he will be campaigning when he's in front of those crowds. he's not in front of these crowds talking about the storm. the president is in the position where he is always campaigning, no matter what he does, he's looking presidential. performing the job he's asking you to give him an extension on, when he's in front of a crowd or in front of tv cameras talking about a storm, that's okay. he's engaged. it's a form of campaigning for him. but if romney is in front of a crowd talking about issues that aren't the storm, it looks like he has a chance of seeming like he has a tin ear or spending a lot of time talking about the storm. one thing we haven't talked about. if the federal government works in this instance, if we have a disaster of some kind and the federal government is able to perform the duties we want it to perform, we should have a smaller federal government, that

the government didn't build that for you. >> good point there as well. anne, i'll move on you to at the next topic. surprise nod with "the new york times" endorsing president obama. not so much of surprise. but the "des moines register" endorsing mitt romney, the first time an iowa paper has endorsed a republican for president since 1962, richard nixon. how do you read the endorsement? >> i think surprise is the first word you have to use to describe it although endorsements are typically overrated. they don't, as much as i would like to think that newspapers are all-powerful, i don't think they shift that many votes. but in this case i'm willing to make an exception. this is a very influential paper. will was some discussion about whether it's because mitt romney visited them in person and president obama did it by phone and initially wanted to do some of the conversations off the record. i find that hard to believe having read it. either way to the steth that there may be a handful of people in iowa who are still undecided, i think it could sway them and

have an impact when both sides are looking a sliver of momentum. it gives a little something to the romney side. >> anne, your read on this? >> i think anne has it perfectly right. i think it will sway a few people who are undecided. it think the biggest impact is that we're talking about it so much and it gives romney more of the media momentum. which is more of a trip for him than anything else. >> coming up next, we start with robert trainham's three must-reads of the big three. and the latest on hurricane sandy, new advisory coming out in about nine minutes at the top of the hour. ♪ i'd like to thank eating right, whole grain, multigrain cheerios! mom, are those my jeans? [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios

with hurricane sandy barrelling toward the east coast, nbc meteorologist dylan dryer is back with the branden in new advisory. >> it is still a category 1 hurricane. as the updates come out, even if

we change the exact name of what the storm is right now, it is not packing any less of a punch. we are still going to see this produce torrential rains, coastal flooding because of a huge storm surge and the damaging winds. right now the rain is affecting the east coast of virginia all the the way up into maryland and delaware with heavy rain. winds are gusting right now up to 25 to still up to 40 miles per hour. but the storm is still more than 300 miles to the east of the carolinas. we're also seeing the cold front back through pittsburgh move to the west. that's the drawing in action that's going to allow the storm to take the turn to the northwest. monday night into tuesday morning is still the worst timeframe and flooding, power outages, wind gusts will be a huge issue. alex? >> i'm glad you make that point. do not pay attention to category 1 classification. thank you. back to the big three for your must-reads, first to robert dranynham. what have you got? >> a piece in the "washington post," walks people through

hypothetically that mitt romney could win the popular vote and lose the electoral college or that mitt romney could get 269 and barack obama could get 269 as well. you talk about a divided government and a divided country? boy, oh boy. >> oh my gosh. i poured over that one. i'm right there with you. what about yours? >> i have a piece in the "new republic" about tag romney. i believe that family members should be left out of the discussion in terms of a demeaning personal stories or what it says about the candidate. but there's something about the romney family history and the wealth they have and the advantages it's given them that they're not aware of that i think the story gets to the bottom to. >> that sounds interesting for a sunday afternoon. how about you, anne, your must-read? >> by my colleagues dan balls a deep dive into what the ground game in ohio looks like right now, for anyone who wants to understand county by county, region by region in ohio and hear voices of actual voters who are experiencing this election

in ohio. it's one of the best pieces i've seen all year. >> you guys always bring your best. thank you for your time here on "weekends with alex whitt." headlines and breaking news as it happens. up next, "meet the press." [ female announcer ] gross? i'll tell you what's really gross. used dishcloths. they can have a history that they drag around with them. for a cleaner way to clean try bounty extra soft. in this lab demo, one sheet of bounty extra soft leaves this surface 3 times cleaner than a dishcloth. it's super durable too. it's the cleaner way to clean. bring it with bounty extra soft, the cloth-like picker-upper. and try bounty napkins.

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